How do you enable “Enable .NET Framework source st

Question

Update 22nd Feb 2013: The Microsoft Connect entry has note from Alok Shriram (Program Manager, Base Class Libraries, .NET Framework) that the issue should now be resolved. The Connect entry is marked as Resolved (Fixed):

This issue should now be fixed. We published an update to reference sources. Please let us know in case your issue is still not fixed.

Year and a half.

Bonus Links

• Vote that this bug be fixed on Microsoft Connect.

• Thread on Microsoft Social that has been going for a year and a half, asking when it will be fixed.

Original Question

How do I enable .NET framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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Note: This question is one piece of a larger whole:

• .NET 2.0 WinForm: Supporting DPI and Default Font Changes
• WinForms controls do not scale during ScaleControl
• VS2010: How to enable "Enable .NET Framework source stepping"?
• Visual Studio 2010 Professional: How to access Modules window?
• Visual Studio 2010: Properties.Settings broken after retargetting project to .NET Framework 3.5

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Visual Studio 2010 comes with a new feature:

• Tools, Options, Debugging, General, Enable .NET Framework source stepping

Following the instructions on the MSDN page How to: Debug .NET Framework Source:

To enable .NET Framework source debugging

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.

2. In the Options dialog box, click the Debugging category.

3. In the General box, select the following check boxes:

   • Enable .NET Framework source stepping
   • Enable source server support

I do this:

Note: You will note, as the MSDN page notes, and as I noticed, that checking Enable .NET Framework source stepping will automatically uncheck **Enable Just My Code (Managed only). I also enabled the diagnostic messages of source server support.

Enabling those options automatically set a symbol cache download location for me:

Note: The Microsoft Symbol Server entry is already present (and cannot be removed).

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The MSDN page says to load the symbols:

To load Framework symbols using the Modules window

1. In the Modules window, right-click a module for which symbols are not loaded. You can tell if symbols are loaded or not by looking at the Symbols Status column.

2. Point to Load Symbols From and click Microsoft Symbol Servers to download symbols from the Microsoft public symbols server or Symbol Path to load from a directory where you have previously stored symbols.

I try this:

and then all the symbols are loaded:

I’ve been sitting on a breakpoint, which is about to call into .NET framework code:

protected override void ScaleControl(SizeF factor, BoundsSpecified specified)
{
    base.ScaleControl(factor, specified);

Pushing F11 causes the debugger to simply skip to the next line:

protected override void ScaleControl(SizeF factor, BoundsSpecified specified)
{
    base.ScaleControl(factor, specified);

    //Record the running scale factor used
    this.scaleFactor = new SizeF(
            this.scaleFactor.Width * factor.Width,
            this.scaleFactor.Height * factor.Height);

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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I am sitting at a breakpoint in my code. I try double-clicking on a function further up in the call stack. This would, I hope, allow me to jump to the .NET code:

Except that it doesn’t work: Visual Studio tells me that there’s no source available:

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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If I switch to disassembly view before trying to step into .NET code (Debug -> Windows -> Disassembly), I can see a call into the .NET code:

And when I do, I end up debugging a disassembly of System.Windows.Forms.ScaleControl:

Which isn’t the same as, or as useful as, being able to step into the .NET Framework source.

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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The configured symbol cache path on my computer does contain symbol cache files:

So it is downloading pdb symbol files, but refusing to use them.

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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Leppie suggested that I check the Debug log (with the debug log window open; otherwise it doesn’t log anything):

Step into: Stepping over method without symbols 'System.Windows.Forms.Form.ScaleControl'

Earlier in the log I see it loading symbols for System.Windows.Forms.dll:

Loaded 'C:\Windows\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Windows.Forms\2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Windows.Forms.dll', Symbols loaded.

So it is finding my symbols, but claiming that it couldn’t find them.

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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A guy from Microsoft Italy suggests turning off Require source files to exactly match original version:

That didn’t fix it.

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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It has been suggested that there’s a bug with Microsoft’s source server for .NET Framework 4.0. Following that suggestion, I switched the project to target .NET Framework 3.5:

That didn’t fix it.

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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Someone somewhere idly wondered whether another person experiencing the same problem was using the 64-bit version of the debugger. Now, there’s no such thing as a 64-bit version of Visual Studio, but I tried switching my project from AnyCPU to x86 (it was being JITed to x64), in case Microsoft doesn’t support 64-bit processors:

That didn’t fix it:

Step into: Stepping over method without symbols 'System.Windows.Forms.Form.ScaleControl'

How do I enable .NET Framework source stepping in Visual Studio 2010?

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See also

• Configuring Visual Studio to Debug .NET Framework Source Code
• Unable to debug .NET framework code in VS2010
• .NET framework source stepping not working despite options set
• Setting up Visual Studio 2010 to step into Microsoft .NET Source Code
• Visual Studio 2008 SP1 .NET Framework Source Debugging
• No Debug>Modules window in Visual Studio 2008 Version 9.0.21022.8 RTM

Answer 1

I have found the answer, I think.

I traced what was happening on Fiddler. It seems only the symbols are currently available, and no source.

When VS tries to load the symbols from the 'referencesource' server it fails (404). As this fails, I think it cannot map to source files on that server.

http://referencesource.microsoft.com/symbols/mscorlib.pdb/ED96A7F38A2940F39B9CA7AD9BC5CB671/mscorlib.pdb

After the above failure, it tries some server called 'msdl' where it finds the actual PDB (but it appears this one have no source code info).

http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols/mscorlib.pdb/ED96A7F38A2940F39B9CA7AD9BC5CB671/mscorlib.pd_

All in all, it appears to be a (temporary) Microsoft issue with their servers.

I am sure I had some source code a while back. But now it is not working.

Edit:

I tried it with various .NET versions, all the same result. :(

Answer 2

While unfortunately there is a problem with a Microsoft, as Leppie pointed out (and I got the same result see

• "No Source Available" - Visual Studio Debugging (even when symbols have loaded))

it should be noted that your attempt would fail anyway, since you referenced:

• Microsoft Symbol Server

instead of:

• referencesource.microsoft.com/symbols

See the FAQ/Troubleshooting section of Configuring Visual Studio to Debug .NET Framework Source Code